Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-12-22
THE WILD TURKEY.
HUNTING THE CUNNING GoeBLER
WITH A SPANISH CROSS BOW.

Maurice Thompson Describes Genuinely
Thrilling Sport-Patient Waiting of tho
Hunter-A Very Cautious Old Bird-A
Moral Question.
Spring used to be the favorite time for
shooting turkeys, and although the practice
was bad and has been abolished Justly / re-
call with intense pleasure many a morning
spent in the bush chirping through the
''bonen to allure "gobbling" turkey cock to
his death knew where the birds roasted
in the heavy timber of the swamp and be-
fore dnybreak used 20 go to spot near the
roost and hide myself in "brush blindn-a
sort Of tent formed of bushes. There with
my rife or my cross bow las the long bow
was not suited to the purpose l began imi-
tating the cry Of the turkey hen This
would soon be answered by the gobble Of a
cock who was perched in the dense top Of
some giant oak or pine in the swampy jungle
of southern river "bottom-" Many time
have called turkey to me before it was
yet light enough to see how to aim my
weapon. Usually the distance was so short,
however, that nicely Of shooting was not re-
quired. For this last popular method of pot
hunting the cross bow was the best weapon
of all, because it made SO little noise when
fired that one could call up and kill bird
after bird without alarming the rest Ire
call several instances in which killed from
two to six turkeys from the same blind dur
ing the space Of an hour or two
GENUINELY THRILLING SPORT.
When use gun conform to the strictest
rules Of the cunning craft, but when take
up the gun of the savage then do as the
savage shooter does After all, however, why
is it any more savage to call a turkey up to
you and shoot it with a cross bow than it Is
to lay its neck on a block, as your butcher
does, and cut It in twoi The gunner land
am one) sometimes says that it is ignoble to
shoot bird before it flies. So It is, in a
sportsman view, if you use a shotgun loaded
with 200 or 800 pellets Of shot, but if you use
q cross bow and one quarril then it is very
noble to shoot your game as you best can.
And speaking of genuinely thrilling sport, I
know Of none so fine as this lurking under
cover and Turing turkey to your shot, when
your weapons accurate range is not more
than twenty-five yards.
Let the morning be q clear, sparkling,
starry, frosty one, with perhaps Just hint
Of fog hanging low in the woods and streak
Of daylight cracking rhe east. Take down
your heavy old Spanish cross bow and your
broad headed quarrils, swallow q small cup
Of coffee and go forth to your blind near the
roost Be very careful in approaching, so
as not TO let the birds know, and as soon as
you are hidden begin their turkey ''yelp' or
croak The sounds will have a strange effect
as they break the stiffness and go echoing
through the woods, and it may try your
patience waiting for a response, but at length
it will come, noise quite indescribable and
inimitable, the gobble of the cock, far off in
the thickest part of the forest
VERY CAUTIOUS BIRD.
It always excites me, this first answer of
the game, and have great difficulty in get
ting full control Of my nerves, SO eager am
for the shot. He is a very cautious and pa
tlent bird, never hurrying, no matter how
much you coax Inch by inch, as it were, he
creeps along, stopping here and there to let
fall his wings and strut, or to stand end
listen, but he does not fail to gobble at irreg-
ular intervals as he journeys toward you, on
his zigzag route through the dense under
brush, and there is something in his manner
which, although you cannot see him, assures
you that he is sure to come into view at last
Now you draw back the string Of your cross
bow and set it securely In the mock of the
nut, and lay heavy quarril in place. Mean
time you have not stopped yelping at proper
intervals Soon enough you hear a slight
rustic in the old dry leaves left over from
winter. He is coming very near. Hark,
that low, muffled roar is the sound he makes
when he struts. Look out now, for If he sees
you first your chance is gone. A low bush
shakes right before you not more than twelve
yards away. He is there. His dark outlines
appear creeping along under the low hanging
sprays of crisp winter foliage left over till
spring. Now take your aim, and be very
quick and steady. The stock Of the cross bow
touches your jaw, your finger is on the nut
trigger. A moment, and then the dull sound
of tho bows recoil is followed quickly by the
swift whisk and heavy blow of the quarril.
The missile has been true 1t has passed
through the birds body, killing it almost in
stantly. This may appear cruel, but why
more cruel than taking tame bird out of a
coop and cutting of its headi Why more
cruel to kill it than to eat it after it is killed.
Nou see rather like to put hard questions to
Goft people. It eases my conscience and wor-
ries theirs
Many Thanksgiving turkey have stalk
Cd with the long bow, many one have I
taken on the wing with my trusty double
barrel and many a one have shot upon its
lofty roost at night with q cross bow, and
never yet have found the person who was too
humane and tender of conscience to eat
choice bit of these same royal birds.-Maurice
Thompson in New York World